Covered-Up Murder: Justice For Sandra Bland

I’m pissed so there is going to be cussing involved. Just thought I’d warn ya ahead of time. 😉

I normally don’t write posts about current events or cases. But this one has gotten me all riled up! I am so angry for the OBVIOUS murder of a promising young, BEAUTIFUL woman.

I hate cover-ups. I really fucking do. And this is one of the worst ones to date, in my opinion. I am so tired of all of the racial killings going on in our country. This isn’t the fucking 1800s! Texas, you need to GET OVER THAT!

For some reason, I have not heard of this until now. This actually happened earlier this month but it’s causing a big stir for obvious reasons. This is not my best writing because I was writing with emotion, but here you go.

On July 10, 2015, 28-year-old Sandra Bland, a Chicago civil rights activist, was on her way to start a new job at Prairie A&M University when she was pulled over for failing to signal by highway trooper, Brian Encinia in Waller County, Texas. The encounter escalated to the point that Encinia demanded Sandra to get out of her car. This was recorded on Encinia’s dash cam. Apparently, it started when Encinia, for some STUPID reason, told her to put her cigarette out.

“I’m in my car, why do I have to put out my cigarette?” Bland answered.

“Well, you can step on out now,” Encinia said.

Sandra refused to get out of the car. She can easily be heard on camera asking WHY. This was just a traffic stop, after all, and she does not appear to be aggressive, only confused, irritated, and a bit angry. But who can blame her?

Encinia then opened her car door and attempted to get Sandra out of the car.

“I’m going to yank you out of here,” Encinia said as the two struggled in the car. “I’m going to drag you out of here.”

“Don’t touch me, I’m not under arrest,” Bland said.

“I will light you up!” Encinia said, while pointing the Taser at Bland.

Once out of the car, Sandra is thrown to the ground, suffers an injury to her arm during the arrest, is handcuffed and put into the police car, then taken to jail.

Some people online think this mugshot is of a deceased Sandra Bland.

Three days later, Sandra is found dead hanging in her cell. And no surprise here, Waller County Sheriff’s Department is calling it SUICIDE.

Family and friends are certain Sandra was not suicidal. She had been a bit depressed recently, but she had no intention of harming herself. After all, she was on her way to a new JOB.

According to “Washington Post“, details of the confrontation were not included in the arrest warrant written by Encinia, which officials released Tuesday, 11 days after the arrest — and eight days after Bland’s death in the Waller County Jail.

WTF?

Sandra made three calls while in jail – one to her sister, one to a bondsman, and one to a friend. She left a voice mail on the call to her friend.

“I’m still just at a loss for words, honestly, about this whole process. How did switching lanes with no signal turn into all of this?”

The message lasted about 22 seconds. All the calls were made AFTER an initial court appearance the day of her arrest. It is unclear why she wasn’t allowed to use her “one phone call” from jail before her court appearance.

Waller County, Texas is a very racist county from what I have been reading, and I’m not surprised. It’s not the only racist county in Texas.

Sandra’s family hired attorney Cannon Lambert to represent them in this case.

On July 21st, Waller County DA Elton Mathis said “This is being treated like a murder investigation.”

We shall see.

To read more about this case (I just covered the basics), just Google “Sandra Bland” or “Waller County, Texas”.

True Crime Diva’s Thoughts

Oh, this case is some absolute BULLSHIT, boys and girls. BULLSHIT! Waller County Sheriff’s Department is covering up the fact that the officers there MURDERED this innocent woman. And I bet you money, it was because she is black. Now, it’s rare that I discuss racism on anything because it’s just a big debate on both sides of the fence. But CLEARLY, that is the case here.

The racist police department said Sandra hung herself with a plastic garbage bag liner. Yeah, ok. Would that have really held her weight? She was tall and slim, but PLASTIC? Come on. LAME excuse. She would have had to make a noose and then secure it to something, all the while having to hold her weight. Using a PLASTIC bag liner? NO WAY. And I was under the impression that plastic bags were not allowed in jail cells, but I could be wrong. However, why would there be a trash can in a jail cell? What are you going to throw away? I’ve never been arrested so I really don’t know if they have trash cans in jail cells or not. It just seems weird to me that there would be one in there.

You can clearly hear her on the video saying she can’t wait until this whole thing goes to court. That doesn’t sound like a suicidal woman to me. She wanted justice for what happened to her.

Let’s talk about the dash cam footage, shall we? It’s sickening to watch because clearly the aggressor is that asshole trooper. Why did he insist she put her cigarette out? Did he think she was going to go all crazy and burn his eyes out? Jesus Christ, she was in her own damn car. Then he goes all tough cop on her demanding she get out of her car. There was no REASON for him to make her do this. NO REASON. He’s just a fucking dick who likes the control he has with being a cop and who thinks he’s super macho for bullying a WOMAN. I bet if you took the uniform off, he’s a sissy little boy who cries for his mama.

I love the fact how when he goes to handcuff her, he immediately makes her get OUT OF CAMERA VIEW. Not behind her car in FRONT of the camera, like it is normally done. He intentionally did that so there would be NO PROOF of what he did to her during that process. However, Sandra was smart and yelled things so we could HEAR what was going on.

Apparently, a bystander also recorded the traffic stop and lo and behold, there are TWO officers arresting Sandra AND Encinia tries to keep the bystander from recording. But too late!! I think I read that the other officer was a FEMALE. Someone ought to bitch slap her!

This shows what really happened. It’s not the best video because the bystander had to kind of hide the fact he was recording after the asshole Encinia tried making him leave. But you get the idea.

This was just a goddamn traffic stop. Encinia’s actions are inexcusable and he should be fired and arrested for assault. But we know that’s not going to happen. He’s probably going to get away with it because the fucked up department will continue to cover for him.

Some people online think that her mugshot is of Sandra already dead. And I kinda wonder that myself.

Sandra was a civil rights activist and very active on social media. She talked often about and supported the Black Lives Matter movement. So, I wonder if word got out she was heading to Waller County and was purposely pulled over. Just a thought.

The officer returns to his car, then approaches Bland’s vehicle a second time. He remarks to Bland, “You seem very irritated.” Bland responds, “I am. I really am.” She continues, “I was getting out of your way. You were speeding up, tailing me, so I move over, and you stop me. So, yeah, I am a little bit irritated.”

Was Bland simply trying to move out of the way of a police vehicle?

The video shows the officer’s car accelerating behind Bland’s and passing a sign indicating a speed limit of 20 miles per hour. How fast was the officer closing the distance on Bland before she changed lanes? Was it completely reasonable for her to attempt to move out of his way?

Also added July 24, 2015: I was reading about Miranda Rights and other things about police when pulling someone over or after they have arrested someone. Was she given her Miranda rights? Did she get an attorney (You have the right to an attorney…)? She did not have to answer any questions from Encinia during the traffic stop or even after she was taken into custody (You have the RIGHT to remain silent…).

This is one case where I hope protesters arrive at Waller County Jail. This demands justice. Sandra had her whole life right in front of her when these asshole cops took it away.

I really do apologize for the foul language but I just couldn’t contain myself! 🙂

She had 20 to 40 slash marks on her hand that were 2 to 4 weeks old. She did marijuana which is known to cause suicidal thoughts, feelings. Cobain said he would take revenge on some reporter but he didn’t before he died. Now I want you to acknowledge that the judge advocate has made you aware of the possible consequences involved in accusing an officer of a felony without proper evidence.

Those “slash” marks do NOT mean she was suicidal, if that is what you are getting at. She could have participated in self-harm – a cutter. From experience, a cutter is NOT suicidal. He or she cuts to relieve pain, anger, etc. So don’t even tell me that proves she was suicidal because it most certainly does not. I wouldn’t trust the autopsy report in this case anyway.

As for the marijuana, IF, and that’s a big IF, it was in her system, that still doesn’t mean she was suicidal. I’ve known a lot of people who smoked pot and not one ever had suicidal thoughts. The report did not indicate WHEN she took it. It could have been before or DURING her time at that jail. She had higher amounts of THC in her system but that can also occur AFTER death.

And Cobain, really? LOL. Don’t even get me started on that one!

So are you the “judge advocate”? While I respect your comments on this blog, I am not going to change my post. If you think what I said is bad, then why don’t you surf the web and see what others are saying about this case. I am NOT the only one who believes this was NOT a suicide. I am not the only one who has stated this on a social media platform. In fact, check Facebook. There’s a page bashing Encinia. Twitter is FULL of tweets accusing him and the other cops at Waller County of murder. And let’s not forget the hacker group, Anonymous. If they want to go after a small-time blogger over THOUSANDS of people actually threatening to hurt (or worse) Encinia, then so be it. That would be lame. Also, how many officers in the last year have been PUBLICLY threatened/accused of because of black people dying in their custody? Sounds like there would be “possible consequences” for THOUSANDS if not MILLIONS of people. 😉

superunknown

I don’t want you to change your post. I don’t think your client belongs in jail but I don’t get to make that decision. The evidence suggests suicide. The officer asked her very nicely, he even said please. This drug addict was in withdrawal got depressed and did suicide. She should have just put the cig out. The deer island doe case, now that’s a truly innocent victim not some dangerous self absorbed arrogant drug addict. There’s just no motive. Everything the cop did was within his jurisdiction. He gave her a warning and instead of slamming her head on the conversation he put her on the cool soft grass. He’s a nice guy.

“Client”? LOL. She wasn’t my “client”. Of course she didn’t belong in jail. There was NO reason for her arrest. NONE. I don’t give a shit if Encinia said “please” or not, he’s an asshole. If he was such a “nice guy”, why didn’t he answer Sandra when she asked why she had to put her cigarette out? Why did he insist she get out of her car instead of answering her like a NORMAL person would do? Everything the cop did WAS bullshit. He had no right to ask her to put out her cigarette and he had NO REASON to make her get out of her car when she refused. He had absolutely no reason to arrest her. He was the aggressive one, NOT Sandra.

And he didn’t just “put her on the cool soft grass”. If you knew anything about this case, you would know that. He physically assaulted her for no reason and he pulled her onto the grass so the dash cam wouldn’t be able to record it.

Sandra was not suicidal. Suicidal people are not going to accept a brand new job in another state, for crying out loud. She did not kill herself in that jail. And she sure as hell didn’t do it with the plastic noose they say she used. That’s just comical.

You’re calling her a drug addict because she had pot in her system? That doesn’t make her an addict LOL. But nice stereotyping there. 😉

superunknown

He didn’t answer her question because his training tells him to maintain the position of dominance, it’s for his own protection and ultimately the protection of society. When she signed for her license she gave up her right to stay in her car for the privilege of operating a motor vehicle, legally speaking. Suicidal is the wrong word. It’s more like manic depressive where as one minute everything’s great and the next life isn’t worth living especially when you don’t have access to your drugs. Nicotine is more addictive than cocaine and withdrawal is hard enough never mind the circumstances she was in. Encinia has a greater responsibility than you can possibly fathom and deep down in places you don’t talk about at parties you want him on that wall you need him on that wall.

So, he didn’t answer a SIMPLE question because he had to maintain dominance? Aw, come on. I don’t believe that’s why he didn’t answer. I am fully aware of the 1997 Supreme Court ruling about cops having the right to make citizens get out of the car during a traffic stop for no reason. However, with that being said, usually it’s because the person is becoming a threat or they have probable cause. She was not a threat to him whatsoever and he knew it. There wasn’t any good reason for him to MAKE her get out of her car. Cops just don’t make you get out of your car because you ask a simple question. Well, the good cops don’t. He had his own reasons for doing so.

Well if the responsibility Encinia has is too much for him, then maybe he should rethink his career options. Obviously, he sucks at being a cop.

Manda

I also believe she was murdered, but I don’t understand how in this day and age, with dash cameras and cell phone cameras everywhere, that these cops think they’ll get away with it! She didn’t do anything wrong to be forced to the ground like that! I don’t automatically think that the police are to blame in every case, but it’s blatantly obvious they are in this one. I hope her family gets the justice they deserve for Sandra. These bad cops are giving the good ones a bad name.